When the Lord brought Zion out of captivity,
we were like people in a dream.
At the time, our mouth was filled with laughter
and our tongue with cries of joy;
at the time it was said among the nations,
"The Lord has done great things for them."
The Lord had done great things for us;
we were happy.

Let our captivity, Lord, be a thing of the past,
like dried-up streams in the Negev.
Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy.
The man who weeps as he trails the seed along
will return with cries of joy,
carrying his sheaves.

* * *

Wash the Mayim Acharonim (after-waters).

When three or more men have eaten together, one invites the others to join him in Grace After Meals:

May the name of the Lord be blessed from now and forever more.
With permission of the distinguished people present,
Let us bless Him (If there are 10 men present add: our God)
whose food we have eaten.

The others say:

Baruch (Eloheinu) she-achalnu mishelo
uve-tuvo chayinu.

Blessed is He (our God) whose food we have eaten
and through whose goodness we live.

You are blessed, Lord our God, Sovereign of the world,
who provides food for the entire world
in his goodness, with grace, kindness, and mercy.
He supplies bread for all living beings,
for His kindness is everlasting.
Because of His great goodness,
we have never lacked food, nor will we ever lack it
on account of His great name
since He is God who feeds and provides for all
and is good to all and who supplies food
for all His creatures which He brought into being.
You are blessed, Lord, who provides food for all.

We thank You, Lord our God,
for having given the heritage to our fathers
of a lovely, fine and spacious land,
and for having brought us out, Lord our God, from Egypt,
and for rescuing us from slavery,
and also for Your covenant which You sealed in our flesh,
as well as for Your Torah which You taught us,
and Your laws of which You told us,
and for the life, grace and kindness You have granted us,
and for the food which You supply and provide for us constantly,
every day, all the time, and at every hour.

So for everything, Lord our God,
we thank You and bless You
may Your name be blessed in the speech of all living beings,
constantly, for all time.
For it is written: "And you shall eat, and be satisfied, and bless
the Lord your God for the good land He gave you."
You are blessed, Lord, for the land and for the food.

Have mercy, Lord our God,
on Israel Your people,
on Jerusalem Your city,
on Zion the home of your glory,
on the kingdom of the house of David, Your anointed one,
and on the great and holy house which is called by Your name.

Our God, our Father, look after us and feed us,
give us a livelihood and support us,
and provide a respite for us -- a respite for us,
Lord our God, soon, from all our troubles.

And please, let us not be dependent, Lord our God,
neither on a gift, nor on a loan from a human being,
but rather on Your full, open,
holy and generous hand,
so that we should never feel embarrassed or ashamed.

Be pleased, Lord our God, to strengthen us through Your commandments, especially the commandment of the seventh day,
this great and holy Shabbat.
For this is indeed a great and holy day for You;
to rest and be at ease,
with loving concern for the command of Your will.

So may it please You to grant us rest, Lord our God,
with no trouble, or unhappiness, or weeping on our day of rest.
And let us witness, Lord our God, the consolation of Zion, Your city,
and the building up of Jerusalem, Your holy city,
for you are the Lord of redemption, and the Lord of consolation.

You are blessed, Lord our God, Sovereign of the world
God who is our Father, our King, our Mighty One, our Creator,
our Redeemer, our Maker, our Holy One-the Holy One Jacob
our Shepherd, the Shepherd of Israel
the King who is good and does good to all
who each and every day
has been good, is good and will be good to us.

He gave, gives, and will always give us
grace, kindness, and mercy,
and respite, deliverance, and success, blessing
and salvation, comfort, a livelihood and sustenance,
and mercy and life and peace and everything that is good
and may He never let us lack anything that is good.

...and all who are seated here,
us, together with all that is ours,
just as our fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
were blessed totally
so may He bless us, all of us together,
with a complete blessing,
and let us say, Amen.

May a plea be heard on high, for them and for us,
which will result in the security of peace.
So may we receive a blessing from the Lord
and righteousness from the God of our salvation.
So may we find favor and understanding in the sight of God and man.

He brings about great victories for His king
and shows kindness to his anointed one
to David and to his descendants forever.
He who makes peace in His high places,
may He bring about peace for us and for all Israel,
and say, Amen.

Stand in awe of the Lord, you who are His holy ones,
for there is nothing lacking to those who stand in awe of Him.
Even young lions suffer want and hunger,
but those who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing.
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
for His kindness is everlasting.
You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of all living.

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
and who makes the Lord the object of his trust.
I was young and I have become old,
and yet I never overlooked a deserving man who was destitute,
with his children begging for bread.
May the Lord give strength to His people
May the Lord bless his people with peace.

Lori Palatnik is a writer and Jewish educator who has appeared on television and radio. She is the Founding Director of The Jewish Women's Renaissance Project, an international initiative that brings thousands of women to Israel each year from 18 different countries on highly subsidized programs to inspire them with the beauty and wisdom of their heritage (www.jwrp.org). She is a much sought-after international speaker, having lectured in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, U.K., Central America, South America, South Africa and Israel, including featured talks at Yale, Brown and Penn. She lives in the Washington, D.C. area with her husband, Rabbi Yaakov Palatnik, and is the busy mother of five children, ages 25 to 15.